SEATTLE – With everything on the line in a must-win situation, there could certainly be tougher opponents for the Seattle Seahawks.
But that doesn’t mean the Arizona Cardinals aren’t a dangerous one.
The Cardinals, who face the Seahawks today, showed last season that they can play the role of spoiler quite well. They were the first team to visit Seahawks Stadium and marked the occasion by handing the home team a season-squelching loss that sucked all the momentum out of the “new” era in Seattle football.
“We wanted to set the tone early, home opener, new stadium,” Seahawks safety Reggie Tongue said. “But it didn’t work out that way. It kind of snowballed in the opposite direction.”
That game sent the Seahawks spiraling in 2002, a season in which they finished 7-9. A loss to the Cardinals on Sunday could be even more devastating.
A playoff berth is a very realistic possibility for Seattle, but not if the Seahawks (8-6) falter down the stretch. They most likely need a sweep of Arizona and the San Francisco 49ers to have any shot of making it to the postseason, and even a 10-6 record wouldn’t guarantee a playoff spot.
That means this Sunday’s game is as close to a must-win scenario as the Seahawks have had since the end of the 2001 season.
“This is hugely important,” tight end Itula Mili said. “For us to even get a chance, we need to get win No. 9. We’ve got to get 10 wins and see where we go from there, but you can’t get to 10 unless you win No. 9 first.”
Last year’s loss to the Cardinals was devastating when viewed through the rearview mirror, as the Seahawks went on to lose three of their next four games to fall to 1-5 and drop out of playoff contention. Arizona finished the season with a 5-11 record, so the loss took on more significance after everything shook down.
This year’s Cardinals team is even worse, entering the game with a 3-11 mark and a coach (Dave McGinnis) that is likely to be fired. That doesn’t mean the Seahawks are looking ahead to the season finale at San Francisco.
“This is the NFL,” receiver Bobby Engram said. “You can’t take any opponent lightly during any given week. And I don’t think we will.”
A victory would give the Seahawks an 8-0 home record for the first time in franchise history. Only one team (the 2002 Green Bay Packers) has done it since 1999, while three others (Kansas City, New England and St. Louis) have a chance to duplicate the feat today or next Sunday.
What makes the Seahawks unique is that they could very realistically go unbeaten at home and still not make the playoffs. That’s a dubious feat only the 1981 Denver Broncos (10-6) have accomplished since the NFL merger in 1970.
Unless the Seahawks can go unbeaten at home by winning today, their chances of a playoff berth will melt like a snowflake in Phoenix.
“We’ve just got to take care of business,” Mili said.
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